Denis Kulyash

Playing career

Denis Kulyash began his top-level career with HC CSKA after not making the senior squad of Avangard Omsk. He played well for CSKA, which led to the Nashville Predators picking him late in the 2004 NHL draft. He then moved to HC Dynamo Moscow in a transfer that drew a lot of attention, but his performance dropped. He got back on track after rejoining CSKA in 2007, putting up strong numbers in the 2007-08 season. In February 2009, he netted his 50th career goal, earning a spot in the Fetisov Club. A year later, in January 2010, he was sent to his hometown team Avangard Omsk in a trade that caused controversy, with defencemen Filipp Metlyuk and Evgeny Kurbatov going the other way. Kulyash initially complained publicly, blaming CSKA general manager Sergei Nemchinov, but soon changed his tone and said he was happy to join his local club. He scored in his second game for Avangard, against Metallurg Novokuznetsk, but got hurt in the next game and could not make much of a difference during a tough season for the team. In February 2011, he set a world record for the hardest shot at the KHL All-Star Superskills Competition, hitting 110.3 mph (177.6 km/h). On May 3, 2011, he was named a new player for Ak Bars Kazan. In May 2013, he signed a two-year deal to return to Avangard Omsk. During the 2018-19 season, his 11th in the KHL, he played 24 games for Severstal Cherepovets before leaving the league to finish the campaign with the Daemyung Killer Whales of the AL in South Korea.